9 


£ 


DELIVERED AT TAMMANY-HALL, 


TWELFTH MAY, 1831, 


being the 


FORTir-SECOIVD ANZI7IVEESAB.ir, 


TAMMANY SOCIETY, 


Or, COLUMBIAN ORDER. 


BY MYER MOSES, 


A MEMBER OP SAID SOCIETY, 


m 


NEW-YORK: 

P. VAN FELT, PRINTER, 

NO. 7 FRANKFORT-STREET, NEXT TO TAMMANY-ITALL. 


1831. 




• \ ii%i • - *V. ^ .»V ” ■ 

’*• • ■ w, \ . ' 

‘ ■ t>-”r ^ ^ . ' ■ 




M v.-r-;'ry -te'. 

SR'••«.>;»;..'^^-W y,'^ 



I'l 


•« ' s. 


■; =- ': '. 





/ 



rij 


?‘l -* 

> 4. . .VI ., • ' 


l.•• :■ 




U-^ ' "- 







.N 


•^ — I s.fc ^ * fc *- ^ ^ >'* < 

" 7V^_ /t'/j 







i’i^i.nsX'if^i.'-r', .s^.'v ", ’‘iASyCsV'" = '^;* 




' y'-'-'r .. 



'f^'~ ''Vv 'r fl.,-^':^'' .'’‘iS; 


•? 


a--’ ‘ 


.<-■ 






■;■' > 








•*. 


■''>.f_i-, .1 un'fTvi t . . , . 

.'.' 3? .1. •■Jr- ■ ‘'JflT I ■ . '^ ' » , j '. ‘« 


..>A ■ ' ■ "-*^'- 

•S -• ■-^ - ,, •■-, 

■ ' ■ ■■:” "‘r-^ ^ ■ 

K;^iii<i«j.„;..^.'v-V'> ,: 









%-."’*:.,, K raS’fer^^, 






■i\ 



- .\; ~ ?r * ‘^, **# . ■ ~ f‘.- t ’• • ■ t —■ , 

‘“i I '■iA-ih't1'i''-'‘r 




5 . •'^ 



if, ’'it .-^Tj 


T 

' >: . 




I.T 


►t^'-V r^ki '*^, 
l * 


>. 
i« > 


:m 





■ J 




A-,- 



- ^ 












DELIVERED AT TAMMANY-HALl, 


ON THE 


TWELFTH MAY, 1831, 


BEING THE 

FORTY-SISCOBJD ANBriVERSARlT 


OP THE 


TAMMANY SOCIETY, 

Or, COLUMBIAN ORDER, 


BY MYER MOSES, 

A MEMBER OF SAID SOCIETY. 


NEW-YORK: 

P. VAN PELT, PRINTER, 

NO. 7 FRANKPORT-STBEET, NEXT TO TAMMANY-HALL. 


1831 , 


/ 





The undersigned, Coniniittee of Arrangements for the Celebration of the late 
Anniversary of the Tammany Society, or Columbian Order, beg leave to express to 
you, in the name of the Society, their thanks for the able, eloquent, and truly patriotic 
Oration delivered by you on that occasion, and respectfully solicit that you will favor 
them with a Copy for publication. 

To Brother 

MYER MOSES. 

P. VV. SPICER, 

JOHN H. WATSON, 

WM. PAXSON H ALLETT, 
JNO. J. BEDIENT, 

CHARLES MAPES, 

CHARLES MILLS, 

JOHN A. MORRILL, 

ELIJAH F. PURDY, 

JOHN HILLYERo 

Nerv-Yorkf May 13, 183L 


GENTLEMEN: 

I have before me your friendly Note, in which you are pleased to 
express your approbation of the Oration delivered by me, before the “ Tammany 
Society, or Columbian Order,” upon the occasion of the forty-second Anniversary of 
that patriotic association. You also request a copy for publication. As the Oration, 
contains no solitary expression, that I would wish either to withhold, or retract, I here¬ 
with furnish you with the Manuscript, to be used as you may think proper. 

Respectfully, Gentlemen, 

Your fellow-cilizen, 

MYER MOSES. 

To P, W. Spicer, John H. Watson, H m. P. Halleit, Jno. J. Bedient, Charles Mapes, 
Charles Mills, John A. Mornll, Elijah F, Purdy, John Hillyer, Esqrs, 

New-York, May 14, 183L 



o 


Fellow-Citizens : 

We are assembled to commemorate the 
forty-second anniversary of the Tammany Society, 
or Columbian Order; an association that originated 
in patriotic feeling, and whose existence is coeval 
with that period of our history which gave to us a 
permanent government, and a rank among the na¬ 
tions of the earth. To the peculiar construction of 
our republican institutions, may be traced much of 
that proud elevation of character that appertains to 
the people of these United States : regarded in the 
social and domestic relations of life, they are enti¬ 
tled to a position with the first among the moral 
and religious portions of the civilized world ; vieAved 
as connected with the objects and concerns of go¬ 
vernment, they stand pre-eminently distinguished. 
The only people actuated exclusively from princi¬ 
ple, to an ardent love and pure devotion to country, 
are the citizens of this democratic republic; the 
only government entitled to the attachment of a 
people thus constituted, is that with which it is our 
happy destiny to be identified. 



The causes which led to this bond of connection, 
and which formed this bright chain of reciprocity, 
may be traced to a period even anterior to our na¬ 
tional existence, and to the virtue and patriotism 
of our fathers, must be attributed the immediate 
agency, through which our independence w as effect¬ 
ed, and which gave to our free institutions the 
stamp of security and permanency. 

At the close of the revolutionary war, we pre¬ 
sented a grand and imposing spectacle, which, 
while it amazed, won for it a general admiration, 
forcing its influence even within the precincts where 
the sound of liberty was wont to be heard but in 
dying accents. The acts of noble daring, and the 
intrepidity of character—the devotedness to a holy 
cause, and the stern virtue and chivalric spirit that 
marked its progress, constituted the nation’s armour, 
and w ere the shields of that successful defence that 
conducted her to glorious victory; but the blest 
issue of the protracted and bloody conflict, while 
it restored to the conquerors their homes and their 
firesides, yet brought with it no security for their 
permanent enjoyment or peaceful possession. The 
young nation, reposing for a time after its perils and 
its toils, was awoke from its slumber to a sense of 
its danger; it w as reminded that its liberty was 
achieved but not secured ; it looked in vain for a 
government, for it had adopted none; it asked for 
the charter of its rights, and the volume of its sta¬ 
tutes, but the) were not to be found. Such was the 
alarming situation in which the nation found it¬ 
self, and such was the eventful crisis that marked 


5 


the first four years succeeding the peace of 1783. 
The people were sensibly alive to their condition ; 
they were aware of the danger that surrounded them, 
and too familiar with the causes, even to sustain them 
in a solitary hope that a remedy could be afibrded. 
The conflicting interests so evidently apparent in the 
different states presented a formidable barrier to the 
forming an acceptable constitution. Political and 
commercial jealousies existed; a vile aristocracy 
was diffusing its poison throughout the land ; glaring 
disparities in the wealth, population and territory of 
the respective states, created matter for distrust and 
ill surmises. A thin population scattered over a vast 
country, and essentially differing in their habits and 
education, gave additional cause for apprehension. 
The variety of religions, with their concomitant pre¬ 
judices, formed no trifling item in the dark catalogue 
of grievances. The powers of the national legisla¬ 
ture were of limited extent, and often inefficient 
when it was most required that they should have 
possessed enlarged authority. These formed the 
combination of evils—the dark cloud of trouble that 
lowered upon our country. It was indeed a rude 
and appalling time : one of confirmed and dreadful 
agitation ; for it was then that the voice of Wash¬ 
ington had ceased to sound melodious on the ear of 
the nation, and the appeals of the fathers in council, 
clothed in wisdom and shielded by virtue, had lost 
their potent influence. It was at this juncture that 
the entire political horizon of the country was en¬ 
shrouded in darkness, and the whole nation was 
enveloped in deep and heavy gloom ; but yet amidst 
these portentous scenes, there was a gleam of hope 


6 


remaining, through which a ray of brightness was 
perceptible; it was inspired by mutual confidence ; it 
came in bold relief; it was a knowledge of the cha¬ 
racter of the American people; a proper estimate of 
their virtue and patriotism. That people who had 
afforded such confirmed evidences of principle; who 
had offered such determined proofs of their love of 
rational liberty ; such a people could not thus early 
have degenerated, and become lost to every sense of 
exalted feeling; could not have sunk so debased in 
their natures, as to have already blotted from their 
memories the hallowed recollection of the thousands 
of martyrs in the cause of liberty, whose bones were 
yet bleaching where valiant warriors fell, and whose 
sainted spirits were looking down with anxious soli¬ 
citude upon their perturbed country. These were 
the fond hopes that sustained the patriot, the reani¬ 
mating reflections that cheered him. These formed 
the all-inspiring subject that brightened up the 
gloomy thought, and gave happy prospect of a day 
to come, the blessed events of which should relieve 
all doubt, realize all anticipations, and give to the 
cause of virtuous liberty a grateful offering. 

Came not this day at last, and came it not in 
proud triumph, when the excelling patriotism of the 
people predominated, and the cloud of darkness 
was dispelled, succeeded by a radiancy of bright¬ 
ness'! Came it not in full vigour and strength, 
bursting with fell dismay and discomfiture upon the 
pitiful, wavering and disaffected 1 Came it not in 
glory, in that majesty and purity of character, that 


7 


secured for us a proud elevation and a name mighty 
among the nations of the earth 1 Did not the pe¬ 
riod arrive, when the demon of religious intolerance 
sunk before the intellectual light of reason; when 
the dangerous influence of wealth was made sub¬ 
servient to the supremacy of talent, and when the 
wiles of a despicable aristocracy were lost in the 
anathemas of an indignant peopled Yes, fellow- 
citizens, that memorable epoch in our history 
shall live forever in healthful vigour. The year 
1789 shall be allotted as fair a spot upon the 
escutcheon of the nation, as that which points to 
1776. For the godlike patriotism that induced to 
the declaration of American independence, did not 
surpass that virtuous devotion to country, that led 
to the adoption of the federal constitution. Both 
shall shine forth as incomparable jewels, the excel¬ 
ling purity of which shall, to remotest ages, bedaz¬ 
zle the world’s wide space. 

Where shall the finger point when it would direct 
the inquiring mind to the sources of these unparal¬ 
leled events 1 where trace the origin that led to our 
happiness and independence I Why it would com¬ 
mence with the cradle of our liberties, open to view 
the scenes of Lexington, illustrative of the first ex¬ 
ploits achieved through the majesty of the people. 
It would then lead it to this spot, the seat of our 
homes, where the fathers, great in wisdom, and 
urged by patriotism, sat in council, and proclaimed 
to the world, that all men were created free ; that 
they were endowed by their Creator with certain 


8 


unalienable rights; that among these, were life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and that the 
voice of the people re echoed the godlike declara¬ 
tion, and in support thereof, ‘‘ pledged their lives, 
their fortunes, and their sacred honors.” It would 
carry it through the march of seven years of bloody 
warfare; mark out the line of battles by flood and 
field, of carnage and of spoil, of sufferings and pri¬ 
vations, and rest at last in happy relief upon the 
thrice glorious triumph of Yorktovvn ; then after this 
cessation of arms, and the young and victorious na¬ 
tion changing the rude character of war for the 
more genial pursuits of peace, a temporary cloud 
would overcast the grandeur of the picture, but the 
mind’s vision would soon be relieved by a brilliant 
prospective leading it to the sublime subject—the 
consummation of a nation’s happiness, through the 
adoption of a system of government unparalleled in 
the annals of the world; an inimitable work pro¬ 
duced by the master spirits of the age, and adopted 
by right of the people. 

From all these incontestible proofs of the imme¬ 
diate agency of the people, in all that appertains to 
our existence as a free and independent nation, the 
inference is self evident, that as the government is 
of their own creation, and their claims firmly es¬ 
tablished upon immovable grounds, so do they be¬ 
come sensibly alive to its objects, and intensely in¬ 
terested in whatever appertains to it. The people, 
therefore, as the natural guardians of their own 
rights, constitute a wholesome check upon the 


9 


authorities in office; and while the use of this pre¬ 
rogative by an enlightened and liberal people, can 
never have a tendency to restrict the public ser¬ 
vants, in what these servants may conceive to be a 
proper discharge of their duties; it nevertheless suc¬ 
cessfully directs its influence (however exalted the 
object) against the designs of the corrupt, the wiles 
of the intriguing, and the machinations of the am¬ 
bitious. Hence it was, at that immediate period 
when our national existence assumed a character, 
and gave promise of permanency, patriotic and po¬ 
litical associationsVere formed; the objects of which 
were not only directed to commemorate the promi¬ 
nent events growing out of the revolution, but for 
the further and important purpose of concentra¬ 
ting public opinion, and by an amalgamation of 
kindred feelings, present in an imposing shape, a 
weight of influence to be exercised exclusively in 
promoting what may be conceived the public good. 
The earliest of these associations known to our 
history is the “ Tammany Society, or Columbian 
Order.” It stands conspicuous in the political an¬ 
nals of the state, as having materially contributed, 
upon various and important occasions, in giving a 
tone and action to measures that have conduced to 
the best interests of the country. The power of its 
lever has not been confined within the precincts of 
its location, but has frequently been recognised and 
felt throughout the union. 

The Tammany Society was instituted on the 12tli 
May, 1789, but many of its founJers had long ante¬ 
rior to that period, been induced, from patriotic 

B 


10 


ardor, to associate together for the purpose of coun¬ 
teracting the base designs of the remnant of the dis¬ 
affected, who, taking advantage of the magnanimity 
that permitted them to remain among us, were en¬ 
deavoring to weaken the attachments of the people, 
and to undermine the temporary institutions of our 
unsettled government. These vipers, who had been 
nourished in the bosom of a generous people, soon 
after disappeared, or only lurked in despised obscu¬ 
rity, upon the surface of that goodly land, the very 
heart of which they would have poisoned and de¬ 
stroyed. The adaptation of the name of our So¬ 
ciety is peculiarly happy, as illustrative of the mo¬ 
tives that led to its formation, and the objects con¬ 
templated to be realized. The name of Christopher 
Columbus is familiar to every ear, and will live to after 
ages in grateful recollection; as the discoverer of 
the western world, he conduced to those important 
changes in the history of mankind, which have 
tended to the spread of light, and to an ameliora¬ 
tion of their condition. 

The history of our patron, Tammany, derived 
from the uncertain light of tradition, marks this son 
of the forest as combining within himself every vir¬ 
tuous, patriotic and useful quality. As a warrior, 
he possessed consummate bravery, and in council, 
profound wisdom. He loved liberty, and was de¬ 
voted to his country. He was the friend of the 
white man, and shielded him from the deep-rooted 
hatred of the warriors of his nation. This was that 
son of the forest, that illustrious man whose name 
honors and distinguishes our patiotic association. 


11 


While we have ever been anxious to imitate his 
virtues and his patriotism, and while we may claim 
to ourselves one undivided effort in promoting such 
measures as would advance the best interests of our 
beloved country, we have like our noble patron, 
been often assailed by the enemies of liberty, and 
have had to contend against the well digested plans 
of the restless and ambitious; but our motto has 
be(m —to advance, not to receded —and we have 
complied with its very spirit. We have passed 
through periods of gloom when our council fires 
burnt dim indeed, and when the sanctity of our own 
wigwams was violated, and the torch of bitter per¬ 
secution was directed against them; but confidence 
in the justice of ourcause, and energy in promoting 
its objects, strengthened the chain of our union, and 
brought defeat and discomfiture to our implacable 
foe. Is there a son of Tammany, one of the Colum¬ 
bian Order, so lost to every proud feeling, as to have 
forgotten that such things were 1 Is there one who, 
if asked if he does not wear them near his heart, 
but will respond ^^Et-ho,^"* and if required to say 
whether they shall ever be erased from the seat of 
his memory, which of them will not proudly exclaim 
Yauchta 


If I may be permitted a short digression, I would 
indulge in relating an interesting coincidence.— 
Through the march of time, and in that indiscri¬ 
minate havoc that it makes of man, we recognise as 
moving upon this earthly sphere, but one of that 
illustrious galaxy of patriots who signed the decla¬ 
ration of American independence. The name of 


Charles Carroll will lose nothing of its purity and 
w'orth, if we should write under it, that ot William 
Mooney, the only surviving founder of the 1 ammany 
Society, and first among all of those patriotic men, 
who gave the impress of his name to its consti¬ 
tution. This venerable man must have been born 
a democrat; for surely if unwearied zeal, un- 
tising perseverance, and a holy devotion to the 
cause of rational liberty, did ever make up one 
entire character in man, it is to be found in him. 
Live on old man ! live on thou first of the Tam- 
maniles! live in the winter of your day supremely 
blest, for the Great Spirit has smiled upon you ; 
He has given you a wonderful and a still increasing 
country to look upon, and permits \ou the proud 
privilege of exclaiming—towards all this did I zea-^ 
lously contribute! 

Sachems, Hrothers and Fellow Citizens — 

It has been reserved to this eventful age, that 
its history should form a new and most imposing 
era—one peculiarly interesting to the whole human 
race; materially affecting the organization of so¬ 
ciety, and involving the destinies of millions yet 
unborn. It is a world’s crisis upon which a world’s 
best hopes are sustained; embracing the regene¬ 
ration of man, and presenting him in that noble 
attitude for which he was ordained by the laws of 
nature and of nature’s God. A crisis produced 
through the influence of intellectual light, dissi¬ 
pating that mass of darkness through which man¬ 
kind had been doomed to grope under the iron grasp 
of tyranny and persecution;—that has awakened the 


13 


spirit of liberty, and that sounds the funeral knell of 
despotism. A crisis that has stripped royalty of its 
assumed prerogatives, and thrown bare its vices and 
deformities ; that marks man actuated by the im¬ 
perative laws of nature, sustaining his claims upon 
the immutable pririciph‘s of eternal justice, and 
the incontrovertible doctrines of confirmed right. 
When such motives actuate, and such causes ex¬ 
cite, what has man, long persecuted and oppressed, 
to apprehend’ what has he not to hope from the 
all-rnomentous events that now agitate the Euro¬ 
pean world ? The convulsions may be severe and 
protracted but the issue of the struggle will speak 
the character of the age ; posterity shall do it jus¬ 
tice, for to them shall be transmitted a matchless 
inheritance; the emancipation of man through the 
triumph of principle. 

In tracing the origin of the causes that have par¬ 
tially, and will effectually lead to the disenthral- 
ment of our species, what a measure of proud feel¬ 
ing does the elucidation produce upon the bosom of 
every American. What gleam of light, even re¬ 
motely distant, did devoted Europe behold, shed¬ 
ding one promising ray upon its suffering condition, 
until it was emitted from the western world. How 
gradual, but certain, have been the influences of 
that holy fire lighted up by the revolutionary war, 
speeding its course across the Atlantic, and irradia¬ 
ting a long benighted region. It was the precursor 
of gieat events—the comprehensive note of prepa- 
tion ; it invigorated feelings, depressed by hope long 
deferred; awakened energies that had slept from 


14 


forced inaction, and whispered to the congenial ear 
the all absorbing subject of the mind’s posses¬ 
sion. The period at last approached, when the 
ethereal flame of American liberty was to burst 
upon the fairest portion of continental Europe. It 
had long been nurtured in the ardent and patri¬ 
otic bosom of a zealous and devoted votary; of a 
master spirit of the age, our own by right, the disci- 
pie of Washington—the good, the great La Fayette. 
Had it been the blest destiny of interesting 
France, that the sacred trust had been permitted a 
direction under the pure feelings which actuated, 
and the noble incentives that governed this devoted 
patriot, the eye would never have turned sickened 
from scenes of cruel devastation, nor the mind have 
revolted at the oceans of human blood, that stained 
the early periods of the French revolution ; yet it is 
decreed in wisdom, that often, good shall come 
out of evil.” The cruelties and enormities that 
mark with an indelible blot the Robespierean days, 
that interesting France was doomed to pass 
through, were the beacon lights thrown out to di¬ 
rect a world in the pursuit of freedom, how to avoid 
the destructive shoals that had so convulsed and 
threatened the very existence of that great nation. 
And did not France herself profit by the dear yet 
imposing lesson! did she not rise in a cloud of 
glory, and did not the brilliancy that marked her 
martial exploits, obscure a recollection of the re¬ 
cent dark page of her history! Did not Napoleon 
raise for France a monument of imperishable fame! 
Was it not the spirit of that day, that tore down 
the barriers of bigotry and prejudice, that had so 


15 


long impeded the march of intellect; that snatched 
from obscurity those treasures, which a long race 
of legitimates, under ‘‘ right divine,” had ordained 
to remain hidden? It was the establishment of 
liberal institutions, that called forth the resources 
of an enlightened and cultivated people, and that 
identified with France an association of every 
materiale^'* that distinguished her progressive 
course in all that could render her pre eminently 
great. It was this interesting state of things, that 
arrested the attention of the whole of Europe, and 
that wrote in legible characters the signs of the 
foretelling general emancipation, through the 
march of intellectual light. 

And has not the spirit of reform aroused from 
its slumber, and who shall dare impede its pro¬ 
gress ? The patriot flame burns bright through¬ 
out the world, and lights up the cause of suffer¬ 
ing diumanity. In the benighted regions of Spain 
and Portugal, where refined cruelty, bigotry, and 
intolerance outstrips the character of the fifteenth 
century, a glimmering ray is perceptible, giving 
to hope revived, prospects of a better destiny. 
Its course is now speeding through Belgium ; has 
reanimated the heroic and long suffering Poles, 
and has enkindled in the land of a Kosciusko 
and a Pulaski, a noble spirit which may yet speed 
it on to freedom. It has even spread upon Italy, 
and shall progress unimpeded through the papal 
dominions. It has long been nurtured in Ireland— 
the fair Emerald Isle—where breathes an instinct¬ 
ive love of liberty, the strings of whose harp have 



16 


erer been tuned to the melodious strains of free* 
dom, and whose willows, bedewed with sorrow, 
drooped low, and moistened that parent earth which 
received into its bosom, the manes of an Emmtit 
and his ilfustrihzis associates —devoted victims of 
tyrannical power !—saint«*d martyrs in a holy cause. 
It is cherished in the land where sleeps a Hoticar, 
and glows in many a patriot bosom, alike devoted 
to the cause of liberty, and to the memory of that 
illustrious individual, of whom it shall belong to 
posterity, as an act of justice, to associate with the 
illustrious of the age. 

Let us now turn from these interesting scenes of 
doubtful issue, that agitate a large portion of the 
civilized world, and dwell upon the finished picture 
that our own happy country presents. I’he rise 
and progress of these United States so far outstrips 
the most sanguine expectation, that the mind can 
scarcely be brought to its realization. We have 
numbered but a half century of national existence, 
and we stand in the full bone of manhood, and ex¬ 
hibit a ripened character in whatever can render a 
people great and powerful. We have forced the 
admiration, and compelled ihe respect of every fo¬ 
reign nation. Our gigantic strides in all that con¬ 
stitute us powerful, have secured for us a prominent 
position upon the great political chart; and shielded 
by a vast ocean from the storms and convulsions 
of distracted Europe, we avoid the continual irrup¬ 
tions that agitate that devoted portion of the world. 
In accomplishing the great ends that have led to 
our present enviable condition, how large a share 


17 


of merit is due to the virtue, the patriotism and the 
intelligence of the people. That we have had our 
intestine commotions, and that these have occasion¬ 
ally assumed a serious character, we are free to 
admit. Perfection is not the attribute of man.— 
Every association, however pure its motives—how¬ 
ever devoted its pursuits in the cause of virtue and 
justice, will be impeded in its progress, by the dele¬ 
terious matter that will mingle with it. Our be¬ 
loved republic strongly illustrates the fact: We have 
scattered among us the poisonous plants of corrup¬ 
tion, the noxious branches of ambition, and the 
tainted twigs of aristocracy ; but happily they never 
flourish in a soil so uncongenial to their growth; 
they wither and decay, when brought in collision 
with the devoted love of country that attaches to 
the American people. The first evidence of the 
triumph of this principle was in 1798, and the second 
proof afforded by the people, of their attachment 
and obedience to the constituted authorities, was 
during our second war. The administration of the 
elder Adams gathered around it and called to pro¬ 
minent appointment, men who advocated doctrines 
that were considered dangerous to the rights and 
liberties of the people. The adoption of the alien 
and sedition laws, curtailed the powers and circum¬ 
scribed the privileges of the people ; and the mea¬ 
sures contemplated, of a large standing army and 
powerful navy, produced symptoms of extreme 
alarm. A discerning people, jealous of their rights, 
could not look upon the events of the day in cold 
inactivity; they could not but be alarmed at the 
schemes of this powerful party; they beheld in 
c 


18 


their progress, if not checked, the probable disso¬ 
lution of all that was dear to their individual hap¬ 
piness and national prosperity. Pending these con¬ 
flicts with the cause of the people, there was iden¬ 
tified no common advocate. The genius of liberty 
rejoiced and brightened up her countenance, when 
she beheld foremost in her ranks, the iiumorUil 
Jefferson! him legitimately called the Father of 
Democracij; his powerful arm averted the blow 
aimed at the liberties of his country; he opened to 
view the bold designs, and exposed the impending 
dangers; his voice was that of eloquence, for it 
poured forth truth ; his admonitions were those of 
wisdom, and shielded the rights, the liberties and 
the independence of the people. From this sanc¬ 
tified hour of our country’s deliverance, the princi¬ 
ples of the Jeffersonian school have prevailed ; while 
they have advanced the best interests of the nation, 
they have effectually counteracted the designs of 
the apostates of liberty, of men alien to every feel¬ 
ing of honor—every influence of patriotism. Our 
second war again proudly illustrates the triumph of 
the people, over the vilest coalition that ever exist¬ 
ed ; one that, while its enormities were shielded 
from merited punishment, under the privileges af¬ 
forded by liberal and lenient laws, abused this sa¬ 
cred right by advocating disaffection, and weaken¬ 
ing the arm of government at a moment of extreme 
and confirmed danger. 

We have now reached a crisis that is marked 
with no less importance to the liberties of the peo¬ 
ple, and the prosperity of the country, than either 


19 


of the two, of which we have spoken. The brih 
hant exploits that marked the progress of our 
second war, and its glorious results ; the tranquility 
of our country, and its unparalleled advancement 
since that memorable period, would, it was fondly 
hoped have exhibited the entire people as bound by 
one adamantine chain of attachment towards it; 
but, shame to our natures, this patriotic desire was 
not to be realized; and part of the same material 
that villified and abused the sage of Monticello, that 
proclaimed the late war unholy and unrighteous, 
and prayed for the success of the enemy, are now a 
part of the prominent actors in an opposition to that 
illustrious citizen, distinguished by the proud appel¬ 
lation of the hero of New-Orleans’’^ —of him pro¬ 
nounced by the immortal Jefferson, as the man 
who had filled the measure of his country''s glory,'''' 
With this dangerous phalanx, there is associated a 
variety of incongruous material, made up of the 
restless—the ambitious—the sordid, and the disap¬ 
pointed of all parties ; from the would-be patrician, 
who would establish an order of exclusives, to the 
very slave of the lamp,^^ who waits in anxious ex¬ 
pectancy to gather from the crumbs of office. 

•i 

The press also has been brought into active re¬ 
quisition, and has abated nothing of that virulent 
abuse and slander that marked its character during 
the administration of our Jefferson. The scenes 
of private life, remote, and entirely disconnected 
from public affairs, are animadverted upon with no 
ordinary malevolence; and these self-constituted 
inquisitors, regardless of the wound they inflict, and 


20 


reekless of all consequences, act both as drawers 
and endorsers of every scandal, furnished by their 
pitiful purveyors, the hireling gossips of the day. 
No solitary act of the administration, however pure 
and patriotic, but what has been tortured into a 
deformity. The opposition of these dignified and 
patriotic editors, commenced from the very day that 
the illustrious Jackson was inducted into office, 
and has been pursued up to this immediate mO' 
ment, characterized by no common share of bitter¬ 
ness. He was violently assailed because he pre¬ 
ferred friends to enemies; because, in the exer¬ 
cise of a right, he consulted his own judgment; 
and, influenced by the convictions of his discrimi¬ 
nating mind, and by a proper regard to the inte¬ 
rests of his country, he removed individuals from 
office, who were opposed to his election, and ap¬ 
pointed to their places firm advocates and compe¬ 
tent men; a measure required from the character 
that marked the contest that elevated him to the 
presidency, and imperatively demanded as a neces¬ 
sary means of securing, in every department of the 
government, the zealous and faithful co-operation 
of its officers, in order to sustain the best interests 
and dignity of the nation. * 

His cabinet was peculiarly obnoxious, and not 
only formed the lasting theme of their remarks, but 
served them as a channel through which they would 
lacerate the first officer of the government; and 
when, from circumstances that have sufficiently 
agitated the public mind, and not necessary upon 
this occasion to be commented upon, that cabinet 


21 


thought proper to resign, they then, with their 
usual candour, prophecy that it is ominous of the 
downfall of the administration; and, true to their 
unhallowed purpose, they have already passed in 
judgment upon that enlightened citizen designated 
for the bureau of state; failing to establish him a 
public defaulter, they resort to another expedient, 
and urge that age has worked a decay of those en¬ 
ergies of mind, necessary for that responsible office, 
and this they unblushingly advance as an objection 
to that exalted individual, who but now has given to 
the world a code of criminal law, that has obtained 
for him a distinguished celebrity, with the enlight¬ 
ened of both hemispheres, and has secured for him 
a rank among the first jurists of the age. But let 
the storm rage, and let the rancorous passions be 
fed, even to satiety; let every unprincipled press 
become the channel, through which shall pass every 
variety of low scurrility and unqualified abuse: its 
freedom should never be suppressed, however licen¬ 
tious its character; an enlightened people constitute 
the proper tribunal to pass in judgment upon it; 
for it has been wisely remarked by Mr. Jefferson, 
that ^^the licentiousness of the press, produces the 
same effect as the restraint of the press w^as in¬ 
tended to do; the restraint was to prevent things 
being told, and the licentiousness of the press pre¬ 
vents things being believed when they are told.” 

It is unnecessary to revert particularly to the 
acts of the present administration, to sustain its 
claim upon the admiration and attachment of the 
people. Wherever the eye turns throughout our 


22 


vast and diversified country, it is to behold scenes 
of happiness and prosperity that open upon thir¬ 
teen millions of the human family, While our na¬ 
tional institutions present a most imposing charac¬ 
ter, and our coffers groan under the weight of their 
abundant treasure, our intercourse with foreign na¬ 
tions is established upon the most solid basis, and 
promises the most permanent advantages. While 
the liberal and mild character of our government 
offers an asylum to the oppressed of the world, the 
unbounded resources of our country hold out an in¬ 
ducement to talent and to industry, and invite to 
our shores one continual flood of emigration. The 
enterprising character of our people is to be seen in 
all the diversity of the pursuits of life, and improving 
upon the facilities that a bountiful nature has thrown 
open to them, they are not only advancing to indi¬ 
vidual prosperity but to national greatness. Edu¬ 
cation, the effective pioneer to intellectual light, is 
generally diffused, and its blessings reach the most 
obscure corners of our enviable country. Litera¬ 
ture and the arts and sciences are upon the rapid 
march of progression, and will, at no remote period, 
compete with the European world. The pursuits 
of the agriculturist are amply rewarded, and the 
unparalleled increase and spread of our commerce, 
throws open to the fruits of his industry the whole 
world as a market. Manufactures are flourishing, 
and extend their usefulness throughout every section 
of the country; and, under the protection which the 
government affords to these infant establishments, 
there is every hope that they will reach that state 


23 


of prosperity, which may no longer require for 
them more of the guardianship of the government, 
than is afforded to the various occupations of the 
people—all of which, with this solitary exception, 
stand upon their own merits, and rely exclusively 
upon their own resources. The mechanical branch¬ 
es, in all the variety of their usefulness, are advanc¬ 
ing with rapid pace, and are daily affording rich 
proofs of skill and ingenuity; indeed, wherever the 
eye turns, it is to behold scenes of delight—of un¬ 
paralleled happiness. This is the plain, unvarnish¬ 
ed tale of the state of our country, and yet even 
within this paradise, there are evil spirits that would 
disturb its harmony, and sunder the silken cord that 
unites its symmetry and beauty. Yes, a bold and 
insidious coalition have raised the banner of disaf¬ 
fection, and every desperate politician rallies around 
it; but defeat and discomfiture awaits them; the 
virtue and patriotism of the people will prevail; 
and present an increase of the confidence of the 
nation towards that excellent citizen who now pre¬ 
sides over its destinies. Again shall he be called to 
fill the most distinguished situation that can be con¬ 
ferred upon a freeman, and again shall the people 
hail him, and again shall he be proclaimed through¬ 
out the republic—“ The man the people delighteth 
to honour.” 

The name assumed by the political Olla Po- 
drida ''—who are scattering their firebrands through¬ 
out the land, is that of National Republicans. They 
are by no means fastidious in their selection, and, 


24 


6onsequently, are composed of every grade and 
shade comprised within the nomenclature of party— 

“ Black spirits and wliitc, 

Red spirits and gray, 

Mingle mingle mingle, 

You that mingle may- 

The variety of hues that distinguish this political 
amalgamation, are not more remarkable than are 
the singularly opposite motives that have brought 
them together. While among them are to be found 
many distinguished and honorable men, whose op¬ 
position to the present administration is predicated 
upon no sinister motive, but upon views, however 
false in principle, yet honestly impressed; still a 
very large majority are governed by no such feel¬ 
ing, but are marked with the very worse features 
that can characterize a people. Certain individuals 
who have long been banished from the favor of their 
countrymen, and who, urged on by a dangerous 
ambition, seek political elevation, and care not by 
what means they attain it, are prominent in the 
ranks of this party; aware that under no possible 
circumstances can they reach power under the pre¬ 
sent dynasty, they now league with men that but 
two years since they only recognized as their most 
bitter opponents. Next in order are arrayed the 
disappointed. These loud brawlers and unceasing 
abusers of the administration, can, without much 
difficulty, be properly appreciated;—had Jaffier’s 
wife been kind, then Jaffier had been true —had 
the president and the various departments of go¬ 
vernment, appointed these disinterested men to 
office, their lips would net have been sealed, but 
would have been moved in loud-sounding expres- 


25 


sions of the purity and virtue of their generous 
benefactors. Then come the restless and mis- 
chievous —the canker worms incessantly labouring 
to make inroads upon the healthful constitution of 
the community; men of disturbed consciences and 
jaundiced natures ; the discarded from all parties 
that they have hitherto associated with; these 
honorable men volunteer to perform the skirmish¬ 
ing duty; but they are by no means faithful in the 
service; they loiter about the lines of the enemy, 
and sometimes peep into their camps; but the re¬ 
ports of their eriterprizes are not founded upon ac¬ 
tual observation, but are made in conformity with 
their wishes; and they deceive their associates 
with as much facility, as they are accustomed to 
change sides. Last, although not least in the list, 
but, on the contrary, most prominently marked, is 
the self devoted, self-interested portion of the party; 
with many of these it is perfectly inditferent who 
governs, provided they can be served; not by ob¬ 
taining public offices—these never enter into the list 
of their wishes—they direct their views to more im¬ 
portant objects ; they modestly desire the exclusive 
privilege of manufacturing for the whole nation, 
and that all other branches of industry should suc¬ 
cumb ; if in doing so, they should become prostrate, 
and dependent upon these lords of the loom and 
spinning wheel, the consequences would be but tri¬ 
fling ; nothing more, than that upon the general ruin 
that would follow^ such a course, the manufacturers 
would build up gigantic fortunes, which would at 
once enable them to secure an undue and danger- 


7 ) 


26 


ous influence, and exclusively to enjoy the direction 
and government of the country. 

For a popular and seductive cover to their real de¬ 
signs, these oppositionists adopt as their creed the 
American system'' which means, not under its co¬ 
vert, but in its full and fair acceptation, the Chinese 
policy, of building a wall around every seaport, and 
shutting out forever all foreign intercourse; of esta¬ 
blishing a monopoly, which, while it would feed and 
fatten the manufacturing interests, would destroy 
agriculture—prostrate commerce—demolish the nur¬ 
sery of our navy—open the portals of vice and immo¬ 
rality—renew the odious system of direct taxation— 
bring on individual and national bankruptcy—sink 
into mean insignificance the elevated character of 
the republic, and turn this fair garden of the world, 
with all its winning variety, into a sickly waste and 
dull monotony. These assuredly would be the re¬ 
sults of that wretched experiment called the Ameri¬ 
can system,, the rallying measure of that party who 
have raised the standard of Henry Clay; among 
whom there are thousands who now behold him as 
the perfect model of political consistency, that in 
days gone by, denounced him as a demi-devil, poi¬ 
soning the very atmosphere with his vile demo¬ 
cracy. The damning notes of the Hartford Con¬ 
vention are now turned to melodious strains of 
eulogy, and the brands saved from the blue-lights of 
the late war, then held out as friendly signals to our 
enemy, have now resumed their blaze, and reflect 
their influences around the once firm and devoted 
advocate of republicanism. 


27 


Such a cause, with such adherents,, can never 
succeed ; fell despair and defeat will mark the issue 
of their unrighteous effort, and they will sink and 
fall, unpitied and unsung. For ourselves, the 
original democratic party of the country, we have 
every thing to hope and nothing to fear. We claim 
an early adoption of our political principles, and an 
unwavering constancy in their support. We boast 
that two among the most illustrious citizens that 
our country ever produced—the Adams'^ —father 
and son—declared themselves converts to demo¬ 
cratic principles; and that thousands and thousands 
of other highly respectable and enlightened federal¬ 
ists have, from just conviction, identified them¬ 
selves with us. We are now as we ever have been, 
for measures, not for men. We. pin our faith tipon 
no man's sleeve. We say let well abide well.” 
The whole nation is happy and prosperous, and 
they owe all of their enviable condition, to the free 
institutions of the country ; to the just and judicious 
character of the laws, and to the wise and equita¬ 
ble administration of that man, who has filled the 
measure of his country’s glory,” and who has, in 
the patriotic ardour of his noble soul, declared that 
the union must he preserved of him, the patriot 
warrior, who successfully encountered the conquer¬ 
ors of the conqueror of Europe; whose undisci¬ 
plined and scanty troops, met an invading foe ; and 
fought and conquered a veteran and numerous 
army; and realized the beautiful effusion of the 
poet, so descriptive of the fervency and ardour of 
freedom— 


28 


“ P’or wliat are fifty, wliat a thousand slaves— 
Matched to th? sinew of a single arm 
That strilcps for liberty ?~that strikes to 
Save his fields from fire—his couch 
From lust—his daughters from pollution,— 
And his large honours from eternal infamy.” 


Ill presenting this interesting and gratifying pic¬ 
ture of our national condition, how proudly can we 
advert to our own state, and claim for her a large 
share of the general contribution. We embrace 
nearly one sixth of the entire population of the 
union ; and our rapid improvement in every depart¬ 
ment calling for an exercise of the energies of man, 
is at once the proudest evidence of the enterprising 
character and industrious application of the people. 
Of the whole annual revenue, brought to the trea¬ 
sury chest, we furnish an excess of two thirds of the 
amount, while, at the same time, we ask for nothing, 
and have obtained far less from the general govern¬ 
ment, than some of the smallest states of the union. 
In a political point of view, we are equally impor¬ 
tant. The democratic character of the state, has 
had a strong tendency in giving a tone and action 
to many of its sisters of the union, and has thereby 
materially contributed in preserving our republican 
institutions, and securing their permanency. At 
this moment of fresh excitement, when the republi¬ 
can party are about to be assailed by its old enemy, 
we are proud to recognize at the head of our state 
government, a citizen of enlightened, cultivated, 
and energetic mind; of patriotic feeling, and of 
pure democratic principles. The interests and dig¬ 
nity of the state will never be compromited, while 
in such keeping. We are also faithfully and ably 


29 


represented in the councils of the nation; and we 
stand largely indebted to the delegation of the state 
generally, but particularly to the representatives of 
this congressional district, for their assiduous appli¬ 
cation to its interests, and for their able and suc¬ 
cessful opposition to those partial and unjust mea¬ 
sures, which, with an unblushing boldness, have 
been introduced and supported by the friends of the 
American system. 

Grand Sachem, Sachems, and Brothers: 

On this day our council fires are lighted up, and 
joy and delight beams upon every countenance ; and 
in the plenitude of our hearts, we offer up to the 
‘‘ Mau-ni-tau'^ our humble thanks, that in permit¬ 
ting another year to roll round, he gilds it with the 
blessings of peace, happiness and prosperity. That 
the tomahawk rests^ hidden in the warriors wig- 
warn ; and that our hows are strung, and our arrows 
pointed, not for the rude purposes of war, but for 
the pleasing pursuits of the chase. We rejoice that 
the grand sachem of all the numerous and far ex¬ 
tended tribes lives, through the favour of the Man- 
ni tau, full of years, full of honors, and full of the 
love of his children, who await in readiness to 
extend to him a new proof of their sincerity. 
Brothers, for upwards of forty years you have es¬ 
sentially contributed to keep alive Aie patriot flame; 
and you have afforded the best assurances that you 
love liberty, and are anxious that its blessings 
should be extended to the whole human race. Your 
council fire, when lighted up, brings around it thou¬ 
sands of the sons of freedom, who listen to the talks, 


30 


Sind who abide by the decisions of the children of 
Tammany, Our own tribe constitutes a numer¬ 
ous force, and whenever we assemble in our great 
wigwam, many await the right of admission. 
Brothers —a period is approaching when the war- 
whoop will be raised, and you will be required to 
meet the enemy; they love not the peace, happi¬ 
ness and prosperity that the grand sachem of all 
the tribes has given to his children ; and they would 
break the strong chain of our union, and scatter its 
links far and wide apart; but do you be firm, stead¬ 
fast and united. As you have ever contended in a 
noble cause—the advancement of your beloved 
country—so have you been sustained by the unerr¬ 
ing principles of right and justice, and success in¬ 
variably has marked your progress. Circumstances 
equally worthy your best considerations and your 
undivided efforts, will shortly call you into action ; 
boldly meet the foe that will be arrayed against 
you ; you will be impelled by a hallowed motive, 
while they will be urged by an unnatural opposition, 
directed against an administration, which has con¬ 
duced to your individual happiness, and your na¬ 
tion’s prosperity. Remember the proud period of 
your past contests, when the banner of your party 
waved triumphant; bear about you the recollec¬ 
tion, that these glorious results were principally 
produced by unanimity : then, when the war note 
is sounded, go to the battle field in the plenitude of 
your strength, and let your pass-word be union; 
the good of your country demands it; that country 
which extends to you blessings of incalculable va¬ 
lue ; blessings so dear and precious, that he who 


31 


would not wear their recollection near his heart, is 
unworthy the appellation of an American citizen. 

Brothers —behold this standard of your order; 
look on it with a steadfast eye—read—‘‘ Washing¬ 
ton, the father of our country.” By the sainted 
spirit of him—first in peace, first in war, and first in 
the hearts of his countrymen—let me invoke you 
to guard the citadel of your freedom ; let no sacri- 
ligious hand impair its symmetry or beauty, nor 
violate the purity of its order. Brothers, look with 
grateful admiration at the thirteen emblems that 
decorate the pillars of the temple of liberty; their 
signification is union; they mean a holy league, 
formed in the gloomy day of your nation’s history; 
the character of the contract was mutual, honora¬ 
ble, and patriotic ; and out of these thirteen jewel 
links, the master spirits of the age moulded the 
chain of that confederacy, which gave to our fathers 
that virtuous liberty which they have transmitted to 
us, and which we are bound sacredly to preserve 
as the rightful inheritance of succeeding genera¬ 
tions. Brothers, may the Mau-ni-tau smile upon 
you; may the light of happiness continually brighten 
your respective wigwams, and attend you, your 
he-ke-ways and pau-pooses; and when it shall be 
directed that you shall mingle with your parent 
earth, may your souls be wafted to that abode of 
everlasting bliss prepared for the virtuous and the 
good. 


'1 





V 


4 ' 






. ■ 

, » * 









CONGRESS 


239 140 9 


■ y 



• »■ * . ‘ «_ 












